Rotary valve



1. GOOD.

ROMRY VALVE.

APPucATloN min um. 21, 191s.

Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

i All? m m m m u J m m f4/125i? L.m/// Emiel. W\HH I JOHN GOOD, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

maar VALVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

Application tiled January 2'?, 1916. Serial No. 74,554.

To all whom z't may concern:

Be it known that I, JoHN Goon, a citizen of the United States, residing in Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented the following described Improvements in Rotary Valves.

The invention is a rotary valve suited for controlling the severe pressures and temperatures encountered in internal combustion engines and capable of service at high eiiiciency in that relation, for at least the life of the other parts of the engine. The invention involves the separation of the sealing and seating functions of the valve structure and the provision for escape of heat from the parts exposed to flame, in such manner that the aforesaid results are produced, and also other features, all of which are hereinafter set vforth and definitely pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 illustrates an axial section of a preferred form of the invention, taken for illustration of the principle thereof; and

Fig. 2 a cross section on the line of the en `ne port.

hese figures show the valve as it is preferably constructed when used to control a lateral outlet (or inlet) through the engine cylinder, beingin this case parallel with said cylinder and housed in a water-jacketed extension therefrom, but it will be evident from the description which follows that the valve may be variously formed and applied to the engine in any of the various ways heretofore proposed for rotary valves.

The upper part of the water-jacketed valve casing forms a c lindrical cavity 1, connected at the top with a manifold 2, and provided withdiametrically opposite ports 3 in its cylindrical wall, which are in communication with the engine cylinder, as indicated in Fig. 2. The. lower part of the valve casing, marked 4, constitutes part of the heat-abstracting means presently described, being also surrounded by the waterjacket, as indicated. Between the upper and lower chambers, the casing is provided with a ta ered or conical seat 5, and at the bottom o the lower chamber, with a similar tapered seat 6, and the rotary valve member (inserted through the manifold openingi is provided with corresponding journal surfaces engaged jointly by the seats 5 and 6, and held thereby firmly and truly in concentric alinement with the chamber 1. The

particular style and location of the journal and journal seat surfaces of the valve is not of consequence, so long as the concentric position of the valve member is securely retained and the effect of wear thereon is not effective to produce a preciable tendency toward disalinement. T e cylindrical part 7, of the rotary valve member, which occupies the valve chamber 1, is hollow and open at the top, and also provided with ports 8, through which communication between the engine and manifold is established whenever the said ports register with the engine orts 3. The ported cylindrical surface o the part 7 occupies a position closely parallel to the opposing ported cylindrical surface of the chamber 1 but not in actual rubbing con tact therewith, the intervening crevice being of such microscopic width as to constitute a seal to the engine port without pressure and hence without need of lubrication, a, condition which may be achieved by giving the rotary member a diameter of about .004 inch less than that of the chamber 1,' and preferably also by roughening or lightly7 threading one or both said surfaces to ermit the formation of a face of hard ca on deposit, which still further narrows the crevice. The carbon deposits on the said surfaces from the engine gases and becomes permanently anchored thereto 'by virtue of the threading. The self-centering engageinent between the valve member and its casmg precludes relative movement between the sald surfaces, except in the rotary direction, and they consequently maintain their initial closely roximate relation so long as displacement rom wear of the valve structure is controlled to take eii'ect only on the rotary axis of the valve, i.' e., parallel with the said port-sealing surfaces. It will be noted that the rt-sealing effect is accomplished and maintained by dry-running surfaces in imperfect or pressureless contact with each other. That part of the rotary valve member which does not provide the said dry-running surface serves to support that surface and also to conduct away from it the heat constantly received from contact with the flame and heated gases, for which purpose the base of the valvel is made of relatively massive proportions and of solid metal with large cross-sectional area, so as to form an ample path for heat conduction,

and that part of the base which occupies the chamber 4 is ribbed (9) to give it an extended heat-radiating surface area for contact with a heat exchange medium contained in that chamber. The engagement of the valve member on its seats 5 and 6, isolates the chamber 4 from the dry-runnin surfaces and also closes the lower end t ereof and thereby adapts the said chamber 4 to be interposed in the circuit of a liquid-cooling system, for which intake and outlet ducts 10 `and 11 are provided. The liquid heat-exchange medium which is preferably oil and hence a lubricant for the adjacent yjournal seats, circulates throu h the casing and over the heat-radiating r1 taking up the heat therefrom and elther carrying 1t oli' to a heat dissipatorat some other point (not shown) or else transferring it immediately to the surrounding water-jacket, which similarly disposes of it. The removal of heat from the rotary valve member is thereby accomplished at a rate sufficient to keep its dry-running part 7 at a relatively low and safe temperature, notwithstanding that it has no opportunity of discharging heat into the Water-jacket surrounding it, on account of the intervenirg gas film. The walls of the said part are tapered and thicker toward the base, so that a metallic heat path of pro ssively enlar 'ng crosssectional area is t ereb .produce -from the extreme upper end o the member to its cooled base, thus not only providing an unrestricted conductive path but also a low temperature gradient 1n the valve member as a whole. The low temperature and low temperature gradient avoid excessive and non-uniform thermal expansion of the valve member, so that any change in form it may undergo as theyesult of such thermal rise that it is capable of, is substantially commensurate with the corres onding thermal change ofthe casing, t us insuring continued accurate fitting of the two parts at all tem ratures assumed. The casing wall 12, w ich happens to be subjected to high temperatures on all sides, is preserved cool by reason of its tapered and widened junctions with the water-cooled walls at its top and bottom, as indicated in Fig. 1. The heat at the vertical center of this wall finds a progressively increasing cross-sectional area for escape to the water-jacket, much in the same way as the heat absorbed by the upper part of the wall 7 passes to the lower cooled part of the valve member.

The arrangement of portsin the valve and casing is manifestly subject to control according to preference but it is desirable that the engine ressure shall balance on the valve Iand t at all sources of lateral pressure be avoided, or at least'minimized, so far as possible in order that sidewise wear may not a preciably displace the valve member an disturb the port-sealing function of the dry-running surfaces. For this that the substance of the invention resides reason the engine ports 3 are Adisposed on op osite 'sides of the valve member; 'and in or er that even the symmetrical wear on the valve shall be reduced in extent, the orts are preferably so designed as not to su ject the valve to the engine pressure in the direction to thrust it upon its seat or seats. Various port designs will accomplish this object and need not be here explained, the port arrangement shown being one of them, and in Whlch it is suilicient and practicable to hold the valve to its. seat b spring pressure, such as indicated at 13. 'libe valve will of course be understood to Vbe driven from the engine crank-shaft and in proper phase therewith, accordin to the port design and through any suitab e valve gearing. ljrefera'bl such gearing should avoid, so far as possible, any lateral thrust on the valve, for reasons already indicated. Such results may be accomplished by makin the valve stem l-llong or slender and ience relatively flexible, or by means of any of the well known floating drive contrivances.

It will be understood that while I have shown and illustrated the valve as adapted to utilize a circulating mass of oil as the .heat-abstracting or heat-exchanging means any other kindof cooling agent could also be employed, for instance, the cooling Water of the water-jacket could be passed over the ribs 9, in such case observing the necessary precautions to prevent deterioration from rust and scale. The oil s 'stem is preferred, for obvious reasons, and ecauseit is cooled by the Water-jacket Water even While in contact with the heat-radiating surface of the valve member.

From the foregoing ity will be observed in the means for establishing and maintaining the ported surfaces of valve and casing in port-sealing but pressureless and hence non-wearing contact, combined with means for simultaneously and adequately withdrawing the heat which would otherwise accumulate in the flame vexposed part of the rotary member and pro uce an excessive tem erature therein and throughout the who e of the valve member, injurious not only to the metal itself but fatal to eicient service. The eciency of the valve ris initially high and is maintained so by avoiding tendency to lateral displacement or disahnement of the valve member from seat wear, which would of course disturb the vpressureless, port-sealing action.

acting therewith to seal the valve, a heatexchanging medium and means whereby said medium is caused to flow in contact with said rotary valve member to abstract heat from its said dry-running surface and maintain the valve at proper working temperature.

2. A rotary valve for combustion engines, comprising a casing, a rotary valve member seated endwise thereon upon a selfcentering axially-thrusting seat and havin a dryrunning ported surface separate rom said seat and closely opposed to a corresponding ported surface of said casing and co-acting therewith to seal the valve, a heat-exchange space also separate from said seat, and a heat-exchange medium in contact with said valve member in said space and adapted to abstract heat from its said dry-running ported surface.

3. A rotary valve for combustion engines, comprising a casing and rotary valve member, respectively, provided with supporting seat surfaces and also with opposing parallel ported surfaces which are 1n imperfect, substantially pressureless contact with each other and adapted to seal the valve without lubrication, said member having relatively massive proportions and thereby having an am le heat conduction path from its ort sur ace to its base portion, the seat sur aces on said parts serving to maintain the Said imperfect contact and port-sealing relation notwithstanding the wear on said seat surfaces, and means coperating with said valve member at points thereof se arated from these seat surfaces for abstracting heat from said base portion, whereby the valve member preserves a low working temperature.

4. A rotary valve for internal combustion engines, comprising 'a casing and rotary valve member provided with opposing, closely parallel, dry-running, ported surfaces adapted to seal the valve without lubrication, supporting seat surfaces on said member and casing subject to dis lacement from wear only in the direction ofpsaid parallel dry-running surfaces, and a liquid heat-exchange medium circulating in com tact with said valve member adjacent to its seat surface to rapidly abstract heat from its dry-running surface.

5. A rotary valve for internal combustion engines, comprising -a casing and a solid metal rotary valve member, provided respectively with closely parallel, dry-running, ported surfaces adapted to seal the valve without lubrication, said rotary member having a part separate from said dry-running part and cooled by a liquid heat-exchange medium in contact with the exterior thereof and thereby serving to maintain a low temperature therein.

6. A rotary valve for combustion engines, comprising a, casing including two chambers isolated from each other, a rotary metallic valve member therein, having a port-sealing part in one chamber, and a heat-discharging part in the other chamber, and a circulator heat-exchanging medium in said latter c amber adapted to ,maintain the whole of the valve member at a low working temperature.

7 A rotary valve for internal combustion engines comprising a casing, a rotary valve member provided with a dry-running ported surface closely opposed to a coperating ported surface of said casing and also r0- vided with a seating surface removed rom said ported surface, and means providing for the flow of a cooling fluid in contact with said valve other than over said seating surace.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

JOHN GOOD. 

